Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
.
Early life and career
Zafar Iqbal was born in
Bahawalnagar
Bahawalnagar ( Punjabi, ur, ), is the capital city of Bahawalnagar District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city of Bahawalnagar is the headquarter of the district and tehsil as well.
, Punjab where his maternal grandparents lived. Then he received his basic early education in Okara, Punjab which is his hometown and later moved to
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
for his college education.
His poetry is mainly in the genre of
ghazal
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
. The diction of his ghazal is entirely different from traditional Urdu poetry. He is a lawyer by profession, and regularly contributes articles to some Urdu newspapers.
In contrast to classical Poets, Zafar's poetry portrays ''love'' as scientific and physical rather than supernatural. Dr Tabassam Kaashmiri called him ''Literature's renegade'' of the 20th century. Former
Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan)
The Chief Minister of Punjab ( ur, ) is the head of government of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The chief minister leads the legislative branch of the provincial government, and is elected by the Provincial Assembly. Given that he has the ...
,
Hanif Ramay
Muhammad Hanif Ramay ( ur, ; 1930–2006) was an internationally renowned intellectual, painter, journalist and former Governor of Punjab (Pakistan), Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan), Chief Minister of Punjab, and he was among ...
who was also a writer and a well-known
literary critic
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
called him a poet of a new tone and new concepts.
Besides being a poet, he has been a newspaper columnist for different newspapers for over 35 years. Considering that he also has been a professional lawyer for most of his adult life, those are not small accomplishments. He practised as an attorney, first in Okara and then in Lahore until 2003, when he had a heart bypass surgery and quit practicing law.
Zafar Iqbal has a son named Aftab Iqbal who is a newspaper columnist and a well-known TV anchor in Pakistan.Zafar Iqbal an Urdu poet and columnist urduadab4u.com website, Retrieved 26 February 2018
*Aab-i-Rawan
*Gulaftab
*Ratb-o-Yabis
*Ghubaaralood simtaun ka suragh
*Sar-i-aam
*Aib-o-hunar
*Vehm-o-gumaan
Awards and recognition
*
Hilal-i-Imtiaz
The ''Hilaal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled and transliterated as Hilāl-e-Imtiyāz, is the second-highest (in the hierarchy of "Hilal") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the ...
Award (Crescent of Excellence Award) by the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Honouring the distinguished: President approves national civil awards The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 14 August 2013, Retrieved 27 February 2018
*
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...